I have realised that the design does depend greatly on what you plan on having your Starfighter do...

For example, what role in battle are you going to have it play or how do you see the fighter flying?If, for instance, you wanted a munitions delivery vehicle that use the "space airplane" style flight seen in so many movies and TV shows, you'd probably end up with a bulky looking ship like the Imperial TIE Bomber or Cylon Heavy Raider.